


Real Jerks and Fake Dating

by thatmitchsentho



Series: PP Rare Pair Week 2018 [1]
Category: Pitch Perfect
Genre: F/F, fake dating au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 13:35:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14262114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatmitchsentho/pseuds/thatmitchsentho
Summary: Beca can't think of a way to be more clear to Jesse that she doesn't want to date him. It's actually bugging her a lot and as she rants to her roommate Stacie, she offers to set him straight. Except he doesn't believe it when Stacie says Beca is gay and has a girlfriend, so before she realises what she's saying she's already told him that they're dating. Now they just have to not screw it up so he gets the hint and leaves her alone.





	Real Jerks and Fake Dating

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Rare Pair Week 2018!  
> Day 1 - Fake Dating

Stacie and Beca were roomed together sophomore year in the brand new Bella house by chance. And by chance it meant that Chloe was automatically assigned the single, purely because she was oldest, and the rest of the names were drawn out of a hat by the redhead. Beca was originally wary - she knew just how active Stacie was in her personal life and didn't want to be constantly looking for a place to crash. But upon walking into their shared room, she'd assured Beca that all of her carnal activities occurred elsewhere - it meant she'd never have to ask them to stay and she felt absolutely no guilt in leaving. That relieved Beca.

Stacie was surprised to learn that Beca was a very tidy roommate. She didn't know why, but she expected her to be a little messier. Sure her desk was pretty much littered with cables and flash drives and pieces of paper with notes about whatever mix she was working on, but everything else was clean and organized. And she had no problem with Stacie borrowing music, even directly off of her laptop.

It was a bizarre room. Beca’s side was on the darker side and was covered wall to floor in music. Most of her bookshelf was actually occupied by vinyls and CDs, save for the very top shelf, which held the few textbooks she used. Stacie’s side was light and simple in color save for splashes of blue, which she assured Beca was her color. Her bookshelf was chock full of books on a host of subjects Beca found incredibly boring, like astronomy, genetics, and biotechnology.

Beca was surprised to learn that Stacie was actually very studious. She was on the Deans List, which Beca had thought was the biggest shock yet, until she learned she was majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology. Stacie had shrugged and said it wasn't her problem if people chose to label her as a ditz. Her good habits began to rub off on Beca, and her grades were soon on an upward trajectory.

It was an easy cohabitation. Stacie would ask for appraisals of her clothes, Beca would ask for appraisals of a mix. They'd study together and encourage one another, promising rewards of late night ice cream or pizza once they were done. Stacie would come back some nights needing to vent about stupid boys or girls, and Beca would need to vent about her dad and the fact that Jesse wouldn't take no for an answer. 

After Beca's most recent confrontation with Jesse, they were listening their way through Daft Punk's discography and eating a box of donuts when Stacie ventured a question. "So, not saying that I think you should date Jesse - because if you're not interested that's reason enough - but what is it specifically?"

"He's a dude," Beca said pointedly. "You know I’m gay, right?"

"I knew you were not straight, but not that you were explicitly gay," Stacie said. "Got that vibe very early on. Does he know?"

"Yes," Beca said exasperatedly. "I told him weeks ago. He's all convinced I can be won over. But his penis is not interesting to me in the very slightest. Not even a little, not ever."

"Ugh. Want me to shut him down forever?" Stacie asked. "I'll get my rage on."

"I kind of just want him to leave me alone," Beca said. "I thought at first we would be able to be friends, but if he can't even respect the fact that I'm gay I don't want anything to do with him." Stacie registered just how upset Beca actually was and flopped down on the bed next to her.

"That sucks Beca," she said. "You shouldn't have to put up with that from anyone."

"It just makes seeing him ten times harder," Beca said. "Because he'll try and flirt and I'll shut it down and be clear that I'm not interested. And then he looks at me like I've taken his ice cream away or something. I shouldn’t have to feel bad for not liking dick. I don’t want our friendship to consist of him disrespecting me every time I see him and me feeling like the asshole somehow." Stacie threw her arm over Beca in a hug for a moment.

"I'll talk to him," Stacie said. "Not like, epic rage. Just let him know that it's making you super uncomfortable and how uncool it is."

"You don't have to."

"I know. But we're Bellas and that means we're family." At that moment, Amy walked past their door and saw the two of them still in hug mode on Beca's bed and launched herself toward them, yelling out Bella Bonding Pile, kicking off a stream of every Bella within earshot joining in and jumping on top. By the end they were both squished but laughing hard.

Stacie managed to track down Jesse the next day at the radio station. He looked surprised to see her; she only ever dropped by when Beca was working. 

"You, Treble," she said, pointing at him. "We gotta talk." She sat on the bench amidst the stacks of CDs, long legs crossing over one another.

"About what?" he asked.

"About Beca, obviously," she said. "You're really messing with her, you know that, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that every day she has to work with you she comes home stressed out," Stacie said. "And I gotta say, the way you are with her is pretty damn rude."

"I beg your pardon?" Jesse said.

"She's gay," Stacie said. "Something that she's flat out told you. So every time you hassle her about whatever soft-focus, indie-soundtracked fantasy you have, you're basically being a giant dick. It makes her really uncomfortable when you fawn all over her, because she’s just not interested and she doesn’t know how to make you see that. She comes home frustrated out of her mind. She hasn’t really been telling the other girls, but she’s told me plenty, and you gotta cut it out man.”

“She says she’s gay,” he pointed out. “But I’ve never seen her with a girlfriend. So how do I know that she’s not just saying that?”

“Uh, even if she wasn’t gay - which she is - how does that justify you constantly hounding her when she doesn’t want it? That sounds like you’re not only disrespecting her, but you’re calling her a liar.” Stacie asked. “And just because you’ve never seen her with a girl, doesn’t mean she isn’t with one.”

“Do you know something I don’t?” Jesse asked. “Because I don’t believe you.” Stacie hadn’t thought that through. She bit her lip and hoped that Beca wouldn’t kill her for what she said next.

“She’s dating me,” Stacie said. Jesse laughed.

“You?” he said. “No way. You don’t date.”

“Yeah I do,” Stacie said with a glare. “And I don’t appreciate the laughter.” He stopped laughing.

“Seriously?” he said. “But you’re-“

“Careful, Jesse,” she said coldly. “Beca and I have gotten really close this year. It kind of blended through the roommate-Bella thing, now we’re dating. Maybe I haven’t dated a lot, but that doesn’t mean I’m physically incapable of it. And Beca’s something special.”

“Since when? Why wouldn’t she tell me?”

“Well, the dating thing is pretty new,” Stacie lied. Real new, as in Beca didn’t even know about it. “And she didn’t tell you for a bunch of reasons. Firstly, she doesn’t have to disclose our relationship to you, because we don’t need your permission or approval. Secondly, you’ve already shown that you don’t care about what she says or her being gay. Thirdly, she spends enough time trying not to kill you every shift because you never stop flirting with her.”

“Oh.” Stacie was on a roll now, though.

“Which brings me to the next point. You’re flirting with my girlfriend. And I didn’t want to make this about me, because this is about you and Beca. But I don’t share. And I don’t play nice when people can’t respect the boundaries,” Stacie threatened. “You should also remember that both Beca and I are Bellas. And so is Lily, and all I have to do is say the word… I’m sure you follow.”

“I’ll try to back off,” he said, raising his hands in surrender.

“No, you won’t try,” Stacie said. She stood up and stared him down. “You will back off.” Then she whirled around and hurried back to the Bella house. She hoped Beca would be home, and alone.

She was home, but not alone. Chloe was hanging out and working on a track with her for a Bellas performance. Chloe might actually be good in this situation, she figured, because she could calm Beca down pretty well when she got worked up, and this was bound to get her worked up. 

“Uh, hey,” Stacie said. “I spoke with Jesse.”

“Oh?” Beca said. 

“What?” Chloe said. 

“He’s been hassling Beca and I said if I saw him I’d tell him to back off,” Stacie said. “It didn’t go like I planned. He kind of insinuated that you might be faking the gay thing because he’s never seen you with a girl.” Beca huffed and tossed her headphones onto her desk.

“What the fuck else do I have to do to get him to back off?” Chloe’s jaw dropped.

“Oh my god,” she said. “He did not.”

“And I might have just started talking at him and maybe I kind of told him that it was none of his business but also that we were dating just to kind of get him off your back,” she rushed. “Sorry.” Beca whirled around in her chair.

“You told him what?!” Beca said. “Stacie!”

“I told him we were dating,” Stacie said. “We don’t actually have to date, but it made him promise to back off.” Chloe was considering the idea more rationally than Beca.

“Just relax, Beca,” Chloe said. “This isn’t a bad plan. Because you and Stace room together, you do just about everything together. So all you gotta do is not deny it when he asks, maybe hold Stacie’s hand every once in a while until he gets some chill.”

“Look, it’s not ideal,” Stacie said, “But at least we’re already friends. I’m sure the other girls would help us sell it to get Treble off your back.” Beca tapped her fingers on her desk for a second and then sighed.

“Okay,” she said. “Let’s be girlfriends.” 

“I’ll fill the girls in,” Chloe said, getting up. “It’ll be fine. Couple weeks max.” She left, and Stacie sank onto her bed.

“I really am sorry,” she said to Beca. “He was being all smug and I half wanted to punch him in the face and I kind of just said the first thing that popped into my head.”

“Nah, it’s okay,” Beca said. “I appreciate you going to talk to him Stacie. That was cool of you. It sucks that I have to fake having a girlfriend in order to get him to leave me alone, but hey, I could definitely do worse as far as fake girlfriends go.”

“Damn straight,” Stacie grinned. “We’ll keep it chill. I’ll come pick you up from the station sometimes, and it’s not like we don’t do just about everything together anyway.”

“True,” Beca said. “Is this going to put a damper on your social life?”

“Eh, I’ve been getting kind of bored anyway,” Stacie said. “Plus I kinda like hanging with you and the rest of the Bellas.” 

“Me too,” Beca said. “So, Jesse and I are on the same shift tomorrow, three til seven.”

“I’ll walk you to the station and pick you up,” Stacie said. “Because I’m a killer girlfriend.”

“Oh really?” Beca said. “Well, you just prepare to be wooed, Conrad.” 

“I look forward to it,” her friend shot back.

The next afternoon, Stacie kept her word to walk Beca to the station. Once they got in eyesight of the building, Beca took her hand without a word. It didn’t feel weird to either of them. Stacie held the door open for Beca and they stood just inside. They could both see Jesse trying his hardest not to watch. 

“Seven?” Stacie said.

“Yeah,” Beca said. “Let me buy you dinner?” The taller girl shook her head.

“I’ll grab it on the way over to pick you up,” Stacie said. “What are you feeling?”

“Burgers,” Beca said.

“You want fries?” Stacie said.

“Always,” Beca said. Stacie threw her arms around Beca in a quick hug, kissed her on the cheek and left. Beca simply ditched her bag and began stacking, Jesse’s eyes still stuck on her.

“So you and Stacie are really dating?” he asked.

“Not that it’s any business of yours, but yes,” Beca said. “Stacie told me she came to see you.”

“I didn’t know,” he said.

“Gotta say, it’s pretty shitty that you only back off once you realize I’ve got a girlfriend,” Beca said. “Obviously you don’t respect me as an individual, just as something that either belongs to you, or someone else.”

“That’s not - Beca,” Jesse said. “That’s not how it is.”

“Really?” Beca asked. “Because I told you I was gay like a month ago. Since that day you’ve hit on me at least once during every single shift. But now you’ll back off, because Stacie came and asserted herself. When I did it, you ignored it.” Jesse looked confused and ashamed at the same time.

“Uh… How long have you guys even been dating?” he asked. Beca was glad that she and Stacie had sat down and figured out a quick backstory. They’d roped Chloe and Amy in, and given them the responsibility to spread the word to the girls.

“Only a couple of weeks,” Beca said. “But it’s been coming for a while? Like, we’ve been rooming together all year and it’s given us the opportunity to get closer. And it turns out we like the closer. A lot.”

“She treating you right?” he asked. Beca rolled her eyes.

“She respects me, and what I say, and my feelings, so yeah, she does. Now that you’re done questioning the authenticity of my relationship, I’m going to stack these CDs.” She walked away before he could speak again. 

She managed to avoid him for most of the shift, only answering work related questions. She could tell Jesse wanted to talk to her, but she kept her bitch face on and he got the picture. A few minutes before seven, Stacie showed up with a paper bag holding their dinner.

“Hey B,” she said. “You done?”

“Sure am,” Beca said. She grabbed her bag and they left in a hurry. 

“How was that?” Stacie asked. “Painful?”

“Jesse is a dick,” Beca said. “I gave him a serve about only backing off because I have a girlfriend, said it shows that he doesn’t respect me personally.”

“Ouch, nice,” Stacie said. “Wounded puppy dog eyes?” Beca nodded.

“How much do I owe you for the burger?” Beca asked, gesturing to the bag.

“Forget it,” Stacie said. “You grab dinner next time.”

They continued on for a few weeks. The Bellas helped them sell the story, and for all intents and purposes everyone was behaving like Stacie and Beca were a couple. It wasn’t a hard façade to maintain - they just hung out, ate together, held hands while they walked around campus. 

Jesse was starting to come to terms with the idea as well, though Beca was still incredibly frosty toward him. The only time he even saw her smile in his presence was if Stacie showed up to pick her up from the station or texted her. Even if he tried to talk to Beca about her girlfriend, she’d narrow her eyes and end up rebuking him some way.

A few weeks later the acapella groups on campus were attending a party, which meant that Beca and Stacie were going to have to publicly be a couple to save face in front of Jesse. The Bellas were all ready to help out, rehearsing little facts about their relationship in case someone poked their nose in.

Stacie and Beca arrived hand in hand, and they both subconsciously looked around to spot where Jesse was. Once they located him, they tried to ignore him as much as possible, instead choosing to have a few drinks.

Jesse was talking to a couple of the guys, but got frequently distracted by the two girls on the other side of the living room. One of the other Trebles noticed and asked him why he was staring.

“Just doesn’t make sense,” he said. “The Beca and Stacie thing.”

“I don’t think it’s a thing,” the other boy responded. “Didn’t you say Stacie came and got all huffy about leaving Beca alone? I bet they’re faking it to make you stop hassling her.”

“What?” Jesse said. “What makes you suggest that?”

“Well they hold hands and stuff, but I’ve never seen them kiss, and I don’t think anyone here has,” he said with a shrug. “But whatever.” Jesse let that settle with him for a second. When he really thought about it, they’d only kissed on the cheek a few times, pretty platonic stuff, especially considering Stacie’s reputation. He was dying to know if the theory was true, so he repositioned himself so he could observe the girls all night to decide whether or not they were faking.

Across the room, Stacie slung an arm low around Beca’s waist and pulled her in, like she was sweet talking her a little.

“Just thought you should know that Jesse’s staring at us,” she said. Beca raised an eyebrow and playfully ran a hand down the side of Stacie’s face for show. 

“Is he now?” Beca said.

“Quite intently,” Stacie said. “But I’ll go get us some shots and refills on these beers. Be right back?” Beca stretched up to kiss her on the cheek and then swatted her on the ass. 

Jesse was no longer convinced that they were actually dating. He was sure they were playing at it, trying to throw him off. But he’d need more evidence up his sleeve than five minutes watching them at a party. Stacie moved past him and then returned with some drinks in her hand, so he stepped closer to speak to her.

“I got it figured out,” he said.

“What?” Stacie asked.

“You and Beca are faking it,” he said. “Kisses on the cheek and handholding? Not really your style is it? You guys are just friends.” He smirked at her and Stacie rolled her eyes before she returned to Beca.

Beca saw that Stacie was headed her way with two beer cups in one hand and two shotglasses in the other. They’d downed a handful of shots now, the two of them teetering somewhere been happily intoxicated and making ill-considered choices. But Beca downed the shot and took the beer as well, chugging it down. She did consciously try and tell herself that she was done for the night now. Stacie had followed suit and then pulled the smaller girl back toward her.

“We have a slight problem,” she murmured to Beca, making it seem again like they were simply being amorous. “Jesse might have figured out that we’re faking it. Apparently we’re too tame to be girlfriends.”

“He is fucking relentless,” Beca mumbled. “What do we do?”

“I don’t know. But he’s still staring,” Stacie said, looking down at Beca. Beca wasn’t sure if it was the shots, but she was feeling it. And hell, she wasn’t an idiot, she was keenly aware of the fact that her roommate was incredibly attractive. She stood on her toes so she could speak into Stacie’s ear.

“Well,” Beca said, “We should give him something to stare at. I’m game if you are.” Stacie looked down in surprise, and saw Beca was giving her the go ahead, so she leaned down and kissed her. She vaguely heard catcalls from people around them, bust she was more focused on the fact that Beca was kissing her eagerly, and damn if the little DJ didn’t have some skills on her.

Beca was enjoying herself just as much. Stacie’s lips were as soft as they looked. Her brain tried to tell her that it was probably enough, but she ignored it and leaned further into her. Stacie caught herself smiling as Beca’s hands moved. Most of the time in this situation the other party would have their hands stuck up her shirt, but Beca was moving down, cupping her ass with one hand and using the other arm to pull her flush. They finally broke apart, but didn’t pull too far away.

“Still looking?” Stacie asked. 

“Now he’s looking anywhere except here,” Beca said with a smirk, and Stacie leaned in again and kissed the upturned lips impulsively. Beca went with it, writing it off as the heat of the moment. Neither girl noticed Jesse stalking away, back toward the other Trebles. Afterwards, Beca let Stacie tug her to the patio where people were dancing. They joined a group that was half Bellas and half people they didn’t know and let the music overtake them. 

“Damn,” Cynthia Rose said to Chloe. “If I had a fake girlfriend who kissed me like that, I wouldn’t need a real one.”

“It was kind of…”

“Hot?” Ashley supplied. “What? It was.” Cynthia Rose nodded, and Chloe hated to agree but it did look pretty steamy. Ashley wandered away but Cynthia Rose turned to Chloe.

“You don’t think they’re actually… together?” Cynthia Rose asked.

“Beca would have said something,” Chloe said. “But I kind of feel like maybe they don’t realise that they’re getting in a bit deeper than they first intended. Maybe they didn’t really know they’d start to feel differently.” Cynthia Rose nodded at her.

Beca and Stacie didn’t really talk much about it the next day. They both woke up extremely hung over and Stacie brought it up first as they woke up.

“You okay with what happened last night?” Stacie asked. They’d made out a few more times at the party, downed a lot more alcohol. 

“Yeah,” Beca said. “Promise. I mean, maybe we got a bit carried away and all, but I don’t regret it Stace.” 

“Good,” Stacie said with a smile. “Me either. What do you have planned for today?”

“Um,” Beca said. “I actually have to be at work in like an hour. This is going to be a nightmare.”

“Well how about you go take a shower,” Stacie said. “I’ll make some coffee.” Beca nodded and stumbled toward the bathroom while Stacie headed downstairs. Chloe was down there making coffee already, so Stacie pulled out two mugs.

“How are you both?” she asked.

“Hung over,” Stacie said. “Becs has to work too, so she’s in the shower.”

“Did you guys talk about what happened last night?”

“What do you mean?” Stacie asked.

“The making out in front of literally everyone we know at a party,” Chloe said. “It was all anyone talked about for the rest of the night.” She began pouring coffee.

“Well, we did,” Stacie said. “It wasn’t a thing. Just getting Jesse off Beca’s case. We’re fake dating, Chlo. We haven’t forgotten.” Chloe wasn’t so sure of that. But she didn’t press any further, Stacie taking the two mugs upstairs. Beca returned, showered and dressed but looking no more awake than when she’d left. She gratefully took the coffee from Stacie and they drank it in silence, Stacie sliding back into bed.

“What time do you finish?” the taller Bella asked as Beca pulled her shoes on.

“Two,” Beca said.

“I’ll come by,” she said. “I’ll bring more coffee.”

“Thanks,” Beca said. She grabbed her bag and headed downstairs, sunglasses already on, ready to leave for work. Stacie was being a lifesaver with this Jesse thing. And how many people would be able to kiss like they had last night and have it not be remotely weird the next day? She felt her stomach swoop as she recalled their kissing, but thought nothing of it as she pulled her headphones on and turned some music on for her walk across campus. 

She groaned as she saw that Jesse was already inside. She didn’t really know if she had the energy to deal with him today but it looked like she had no choice. She let herself in and bought a bottle of water from the machine by the front desk. 

She raised her hand at Luke through the booth window and dumped her bag on one of the tables before she pulled a crate toward herself. She wanted to disappear into the stacks before Jesse spoke to her, before he even looked in her general direction.

She got through the first crate and went back for another before she saw him. She sighed and put the empty crate on the table. She could feel Jesse staring at her disapprovingly. 

“Can I help you with something?” she said.

“Just didn’t think you were that kind of girl,” he said. “You put on quite the show last night. Can’t imagine what people are saying today, I mean, I know my perspective on you is certainly different.” She could feel her blood boiling, and she did not have it in her to be patient this time. She threw the crate at him, hitting him in the chest and shoulder.

“Ow, what the fuck!?” he exclaimed. But she was seeing red. She charged at him and shoved him backward into a desk.

“Can I ever fucking win with you!?” she yelled. “God fucking dammit Jesse I swear to god!” Luke came bounding out of the booth just as she charged at him again, catching her, picking her up and whirling her out of the way.

“Whoa, what’s going on?” he said. “I look up just in time to see you clobber Jesse with a crate and now you’re what, trying to kill him?” Beca ignored Luke and continued to rant at Jesse, but Luke grabbed a hold of her arm to keep her back.

“First I tell you I don’t want to date you and you don’t give a shit and keep hassling me every single fucking day,” she said. “Then I say I don’t want to date you because I’m gay, and you still don’t give a shit, keep hassling me and also tell Stacie you don’t believe me because you’ve never seen me with a girl. Then Stacie tells you that she’s my girlfriend but you still don’t give a shit because we aren’t coupley enough for your liking and keep hassling me. Last night I made out with my girlfriend at a party - hardly x rated material - and now you’re being a condescending dick and saying you didn’t think I was that kind of girl? What the fuck is your problem and why can’t you just leave me alone? I don’t want anything to do with you, I just want you to leave me alone, please for the love of god.” Jesse was openmouthed and quiet, but still looked in pain.

“Hang on, what?” Luke said, releasing her arm. She was shaking slightly and still angry, and she was so tired that she felt like she wanted to cry. “Beca, are you being serious?”

“Of course I am,” she said. “I just want to get through a single day without this asshole interjecting himself into my life. I don’t want to fuck him or date him, I don’t want to be friends with him, I don’t even want to have to speak to him but he just won’t leave me alone.”

“Is what she saying even a little accurate, Jesse?” Luke asked. “About you hassling her non stop, even after she said she was gay, even after she said she had a girlfriend?”

“Well yeah, but she never even gave me a chance,” Jesse pleaded. “Not even once. Just dismissed me! I’m not a bad guy, Luke, you know that.”

“Yeah, okay, you’re fired,” Luke said. “Get the fuck out of my station.”

“What?” Jesse said.

“You’ve been sexually harassing Beca at this station and if I’d known about it from the first occasion, I would have fired you back then,” Luke said. “Get out, don’t come back, and expect a call from the disciplinary board because I’m putting sexual misconduct on your termination form. A girl says no, she means no. And not listening to that does, in fact, make you a bad guy.” Jesse shot a look at Beca but left the station, slamming the door.

“Now you,” Luke said. “You idiot, are you okay?” Beca shrugged. She didn’t know. She was tired and hung over and still angry and she was a lot of things. 

“I don’t know,” she said simply. “Thank you.”

“I wish you had told me sooner,” he said. “But I’ve got your back on this. I’m filing with the disciplinary board for sure. Fuck that guy. Even if you weren’t gay, you’re ridiculously out of his league. And once you say no, it should be no.” Beca just nodded. Her head was starting to throb.

“Do you want to talk to someone about what happened just now, or any of it?” he offered. She shook her head. “But I think maybe you should bail for the day. Don’t worry about this. Go ahead.”

“Thanks Luke,” she said softly. She grabbed her bag and headed back to the Bella house. She felt the tears finally spill as she headed up the path and she didn’t want anyone to see her. The living room was full of Bellas and they all looked up as she came in, but she kept her head down and went straight up to her room. She kicked her shoes off and dry swallowed a couple of aspirin before lying down on her bed.

Stacie let herself in a moment later and locked the door, dragging her chair over to the door and wedging it under the handle for good measure. She didn’t say anything, just scrunched into the bed next to her and waited. Beca told her the story eventually. About her snapping, hurting Jesse, screaming at him, about Luke firing him. About Luke being really nice about everything.

“And I’m just so tired and still hung over and my head hurts,” Beca said. “And I don’t want to fucking see or talk to anyone.”

“Want me to go?” Stacie said.

“No, not you, you can stay,” Beca said. “Please.” Stacie shuffled and wrapped an arm around her.

“Let’s nap,” she said. “Then we can go out for food.” 

“Deal,” Beca said. 

They dozed off together, not for an extraordinarily long time, maybe an hour. When Beca woke, it was to Stacie curled tightly around her body, arm slung over waist. It took her a good minute to realise just how much she was enjoying the feeling. Stacie smelled nice, she was holding her securely but not too tightly. Stacie began to stir, and Beca waited until the taller girl had struggled into an upright position before she moved. 

“How are you feeling?” Stacie asked.

“Bit better, hangover wise,” Beca said. “Still pissed off with Jesse. I think that one might last forever though.”

“And at least it’s over now,” Stacie said. “We don’t have to pretend for his benefit any more.”

“Yeah,” Beca said. She felt a little weird about that, but pushed it out of her head. “So, food? Burgers?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Stacie said. They put some shoes on and tried their best to sneak out of the Bella house, ignoring the questioning looks from everyone who had seen Beca in tears on her way in. 

Stacie had to stop herself taking Beca’s hand more than once. It was a hard habit to break, Beca had this thing where she played with Stacie’s fingers lightly whenever they held hands. She was used to delicate touches on her thumb, the back of her hand, tiny fingers spinning the rings she was wearing. It felt like something was missing.

They sat opposite each other while they ate, instead of next to each other. Both girls felt weird about their arrangement reverting back to friendship, missing the intimacy they had shared. Beca missed Stacie’s hand on her knee. But they still had a great time, and Beca still loved hearing her laugh.

Sitting across from Beca meant that Stacie was able to look into Beca’s eyes more directly than when they used to sit pressed up next to each other. They were pretty, she realised. Not the same kind of blue as Chloe’s, but a stormier, more intriguing color that matched her personality. 

Beca ended up explaining everything to Chloe that afternoon, and she promised to do her best to fill the rest of the girls in without having them coming and hassling her for the details. She didn’t like being fussed over, the only person she really wanted to be around right now was Stacie.

That’s the way they carried on for a few weeks. Beca didn’t really know why but she felt like she missed Stacie, even though they were still sharing a room, still close. And Stacie felt like something was off. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it was enough that she noticeably felt different. Chloe thought they were ridiculous because it was exceedingly clear to everyone but them that they were in love with each other.

One Thursday Stacie was in full study mode, or at least, she was trying to be. She was attempting to prepare for a brutal physics exam that was looming. But Bellas kept opening and closing their door, for inconsequential things that drove her crazy. Eventually Beca had scrawled [Stace is studying. Unless the house is actually on fire do not knock or open this door] on the whiteboard that hung on their door and locked it. Beca had her headphones on and was working in silence so as not to disturb her. She watched her plowing through simultaneous textbooks and notes, still very much ignoring the swirling feeling looking at Stacie seemed to produce lately.

“This exam is going to kill me,” Stacie said. She slammed her book shut loudly, causing Beca to look up from her laptop. She stood up and stretched her neck. “That’s it. Dance break.”

“What?” Beca asked.

“I need a distraction. These formulae are blending together and I can’t separate them. Put a mix on, I need to dance it out,” she said. Beca looked at her like she was crazy, but put one on anyway. Stacie immediately fell into the rhythm of the piece, eyes closed as she danced to the music Beca had made. Beca watched from her desk, entranced by the sight of Stacie’s body swaying in front of her. She hadn’t planned this, hadn’t planned on what she recognized was her developing real feelings for her fake girlfriend. But here she was, ogling her as she danced on, unaware. Beca was moving before she knew what she was doing. She was up and right in front of Stacie, the taller girls raised arm colliding with her shoulder, causing her to open her eyes.

“What?” Stacie asked. Beca didn’t speak. She just lightly ran her hands down Stacie’s arms so they were by her side, then cupped the back of her neck with one hand. Stacie had no idea what was happening, she only knew that Beca was looking at her like she wanted to kiss her, and then she was. 

Beca’s lips brushed softly against hers. There was a sharp intake of breath from Stacie as she realized what was happening. “Beca, we don’t have to worry about him any more.” She needed to give her the out.

“I know,” Beca said. “Kiss me anyway.” Stacie responded by meshing their mouths together more aggressively in a deeper kiss.

“What are we doing here?” she asked, pulling back. 

“This all feels ridiculously easy,” Beca said. “Being with you is easy. And kissing you isn’t exactly rough either. I feel like - ”

“Like at some point during this charade we stopped being friends and started being girlfriends?” Stacie asked. “Like once we stopped, something was missing? Beca nodded.

“And if it’s okay, I think I’m going to kiss you again,” Beca said. Stacie didn’t object at all. Beca’s mouth was hot and accommodating and she was reminded just how good a kisser the smaller girl was. It was better without the alcohol that had colored their party kisses, it removed the haze that allowed them to safely hide whatever it was they were feeling. Now it was all raw, all unrestrained.

Stacie wanted her hands on Beca’s skin like, yesterday. She’d done a little light groping for Jesse’s benefit, but it had only fueled the actual need that she hadn’t even realised she’d been repressing so far. So she stripped the plaid off of Beca and slid her hands up the smaller girl’s back, under the racer back tank she was wearing. Beca propelled her to the door and pushed her up against it, one hand hooking up under her knee and raising it, then caressing the toned leg delicately. It wasn’t possible that her touch could be so soft and her tongue so firm. She sucked in a gasp as Stacie’s nails raked across her skin and mumbled some kind of profanity along with it.

They stumbled back toward Stacie’s bed and fell onto it, Beca finding herself pinned underneath the taller girl. Their eyes met and Stacie settled her arms either side of Beca, propping herself up.

“You sure you want to do this?” she asked.

“I want this, Stace,” Beca said. “I didn’t want us to stop. I missed you.” Stacie smiled and leaned down to kiss her again, Beca shifting so that their bodies were better aligned.

“Me too,” she said. Their lips met again and they lost themselves in each other.

It was much later when they were finally finished and curled up against each other in the twin bed, naked and covered with a blanket.

“How do we tell the girls?” Stacie asked.

“Oh they probably know,” Beca said. “I don’t think either of us were very quiet during that. But I think... I don’t care what they think.” 

“I think I agree,” Stacie said. “I also can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I need to not forget about this fucking physics exam.” Beca laughed and laid another kiss on Stacie’s lips.

“No, study,” Beca said. “I’ll make coffee.” They re-dressed and Beca unlocked their door only to find every single Bella sitting in Cynthia Rose and Amy’s room, which was directly across the hall.

“So,” Amy said. “No longer fake banging? Actual banging?”

“Stace,” Beca said. Stacie got up from where she’d already parked herself to continue her study and joined her at the door. She spotted the audience.

“Oh,” Stacie said. “Yeah, so Beca and I are a thing now. Actually a thing, not just a fake thing.” Beca nodded and kissed her girlfriend - girlfriend! - softly before she headed downstairs to make the coffee, leaving all of the Bellas behind her.


End file.
